October 2015 Book Review: Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass 

By Sarah J. Maas  

~Book Review~

*Warning: Spoilers*

RECOMMENDATION: GET THROUGH THIS BOOK, and then pick up the rest of the series: Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, and Queen of Shadows. The books get much, much better—they’re a different, darker breed all together rather than this poorly constructed assassin competition that is a backdrop for a romance novel.

WOW this book was a flashback! I remember reading one of the early drafts on Fictionpress, the premise being a Cinderellaesque assassin fighting something— I don’t remember what. I was instantly enchanted with the "heart" of the story as it figured out what it wanted to be, and the glass castle descriptions were straight from a fairytale. I remember Dorian being super alluring and the chemistry he had with Caelena was off the charts because of the "will they? won't they?" tension. There was also a really hot fairy prince.

Sadly I do feel like the "heart" was missing from this book—what made the world unique and the characters come to life. The love triangle between Caelena, Chaol, and Dorian feels forced rather than natural, the tension is missing from Caelena and Dorian's encounters, and Caelena seems more concerned with gowns than being a kick-a** formidable assassin. Too many secrets are hinted at that feel like a set-up for the next book rather than being relevant to the plot, such as the fairy world, and it's tough for me to explain how said fairy world stands on its own against a trillion others in standard high fantasy.

Really loved the character of Nehima and the great friendship she and Caelena had! And although I liked the tribute to Beauty and the Beast with Dorian showing Caelena the library, I suddenly had Disney versions of Belle and the Beast dancing through my head, kind of amusing.

The one flaw that continues throughout the series is the lack of a consistent, menacing villain. The king reminded me of a thinly-developed Galbatorix figure from Christopher Paolini's Eragon, and demons who kill for the sake of killing are pretty boring to read about it. There are some side characters like the King of Assassins and the Queen of Faeries who are intriguing antagonists, but there really is no central, riveting enemy who is Caelena's equal in cunning, power, and character development threatening the lands. As such, this leads to a lot of lost tension and the stakes don't feel high to me. You might bring up the witches here, who had the potential to be a dangerous and intriguing enemy for Caelena, but it's obvious from the first Manon chapter that they are "redeemable" because they are "pawns" for the Duke. I need my Lannisters, damnit. 

The second book takes off, so stick around for that one. Or better yet, pick up the short story prequel series, The Assassin’s Blade, and pretend that it is the first book. You won’t miss much. Also, hopefully later in the series there will be a really compelling villain to bring back the tension/threat to the characters' lives (evil king? bah. seen that too many times before). Overall, it was just too easy for me to put Throne of Glass down.

Recommended for fans of: Julie Kagawa and Kristin Cashore

Upcoming Book Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

September 2015 Book Review: Talon

Talon

By Julie Kagawa 

~Book Review~

*Warning! Minor Spoilers!*

ENGROSSING WRITING. Only Julie Kagawa could keep my attention through a scene about a date at a mall. I have a short attention span when it comes to YA paranormal books. Either they are unique and exciting, or they are Twilight love triangle romances disguised as fantasy books.

This book was in the middle. The writing and scene-setting was phenomenal, but the plot and pacing were so-so. A lot more could have been done with the dragons. However, I appreciated the detail Kagawa gave when describing southern California, one of the most overly used locations in films and books. I liked Ember’s world view of it. Overall, this book moves slowly and the romance develops sweetly like in Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver.

Ember and Dante are dragon-shifting twins. Ember is fierce and outspoken, while Dante is more thoughtful and loyal to their secretive dragon society called Talon. Ember and Dante are sent to southern California to blend in and assimilate with human society. They are also visited by trainers to keep them sharp, because their kind is hunted by the Order of St. George, a militarized group of humans who want to drive them to extinction. Eventually, Ember and Dante will be appointed their place in Talon society which has every role from assassins to surveillance members.

Negative: Ember is rebellious to the point of irritation. Positive: Time is spent on Ember and Dante’s relationship, and you wonder if Dante will remain loyal to Talon or throw in his lot with Ember. Positive: Riley (Cobalt), a shape-shifting rogue dragon, shakes up Ember’s view of Talon. Negative: Riley is inevitably the Jacob in a budding love triangle. The other point? Garret, a soldier in the Order of St. George.

Garret’s viewpoint was more interesting to me, and he can’t even shapeshift like Ember… Yikes. However, Garrett had a more mature, world-weary point of view that made me root for him, and he just seemed smarter overall than Ember, who was incredibly impulsive.

I need to talk about the surfing.

I get that Ember is physical superior, but to read that within hours she is able to surf these 10+ foot waves was unbelievable. That is big surf. Many of the seasoned surfers I know would only venture out in those conditions with caution. Not buying it.

Anyways, on to the actual plot. I would have liked more time to be spent on Ember’s training, because the idea of a shape-shifting dragon is just so interesting. However, Ember isn’t as concerned with her training, so we get treated to countless scenes of going to parties and ice cream parlors and malls. Garret and his crew get a lead that a shape-shifting dragon is in Southern Cali, and the tough, hardened soldiers coolly try to fit in with high school teenagers. That was hilarious to picture without it meaning to be.

However, big points on the end when the dragons actually get their claws out. I’m not an Ember fan, but Garret is tolerable. I’m intrigued to read Rogue, the next book in the series. We need more scenes of this secretive Talon society, stat!

Recommended for fans of: Sophie Jordan, Maggie Stiefvater, Andrea Cremer

Upcoming Book Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Hawaiian Islands Travel Series: Southeastern Maui: Haleakala National Park

Day 6: Haleakalā National Park

We woke up at 6:00 AM the morning of our journey up Haleakalā, the 10,023 foot peak that engulfs the southeastern part of Maui. We were going to do the Sliding Sands Trail, which is approximately 4.7 miles round trip.

Seeing the sunrise at Haleakalā is one of the most popular attractions. We debated doing so, but eventually decided that because of where we were coming from (Waiʻānapanapa State Park), it would take us over two hours to reach the top. In addition, there is heavy traffic to get up to the summit in time to see sunrise. You’ll then spend at least 30 minutes shivering in the dark before the sunrise hits, so it is recommended to dress appropriately for the cold and bring blankets (you’re up at 10,023 feet after all).

  

Our car trip took us up the Hana Highway, which was very uncrowded since we were going back toward the west. However, we used Google Maps to see when to turn up this side road that takes you to Makawao. It is recommended to fill up with gas here if you’ll need it—otherwise the last gas station will be Pukalani Town. We then began a long switch-backing journey up the peak’s face. There were flocks of birds here and there, and we looked closely to see if one of them was the rare nēnē goose, Hawaii’s endangered state bird.

Eventually the ground turned to red rock, and we saw the white dome of an observation tower on the summit. We had arrived on the face of the moon a little after 8:00 AM. We stumbled out in the parking lot and took some time to adjust to the altitude before approaching the lookout to catch our first glimpse of the gigantic crater. It was super impressive. I could have stared for hours—but then I got cold.

There are fees to get into the park. The most current information is here. You can also buy permits for cabins that are far out in the vastness of the crater. It will feel like there is no limit to how far you can hike while you are inside, and eventually you will reach a lush jungle, which is really trippy against the vivid rainbow colored cliffs and red soil.

We were doing a day trip: the Sliding Sands Trail. It was a thoroughly enjoyable hike. Going down was the easy part. Make sure you stay on the trail—a ranger was quick to appear when we looked like we were straying off. This is because there are many underground nēnē nests, and if you step on the wrong spot, you could collapse their burrows. In addition, there is a lot of endangered species growing within the vibrant vermillion soil, the most striking of which was the ʻahinahina, or silver sword. The sight of this glittering silver plant really made me feel like I was on a completely different planet.

  

We saw a trail that led around an extinct cinder cone halfway down, but the ranger (I swear, this lady was an expert at appearing out of nowhere) appeared again and told us that was a sacred place for those of Hawaiian heritage to visit. 

  

She eventually out-distanced us, and we were able to make our way to a crossroads shaded by bushes. There, different trails branched out to the three cabins that are spread across the crater. Unfortunately that was as far as we could go for the day. We rested and enjoyed our lunch (even though the ranger did show up again briefly, but her attention was fixated on another group of hikers). There were plenty of chukar partridges to keep us company, but the elusive nēnē remained a mystery.

The hike up was pretty brutal. The sun had hit its high point, so any lovely coolness had fled. Plus, we were going, well, straight up in some areas for 2,800 feet. We rationed our water bottles to last—we had two water bottles each. Also, I think the altitude was affecting us at this point. We were in a strange, hiking zone, and our minds definitely drifted, while our conversations started to sound increasingly like we were high. By the time we reached the parking lot, our delirious state was evident by the fact that Scott* partridges around the parking lot.

All in all, we made it out around early afternoon, which was crucial because we still had to drive all the way out, stop to gorge our faces, and then drive all the way back to Waiʻānapanapa State Park to avoid nightfall. Again: plan for how much gasoline you’re going to use.

One the way down, we have looked for any sign of the Brocken Spectre, which is this insanely cool phenomenon where you can see your shadow enlarged and encircled in a rainbow halo. It requires a whole bunch of conditions for it to happen, including the sun to be low in the sky, high altitude, rainclouds to split the white light into a rainbow, and then you standing in position on the mountain with the sun and clouds behind you. As you might imagine, the image is very surreal and spiritually beautiful.

We didn’t see this on Haleakalā, but actually a couple months later, I did witness this aboard an airplane flying in to Honolulu. I looked out the window, and there was the giant, shadow specter of the airplane illuminated by a rainbow halo against the clouds. It was pretty majestic.

For our trip down, we cruised our way to Paia and then chowed down on some deliciously gooey pizza from the Flatbread Company. It was growing dark by the time we hit the Hana Highway. I definitely don’t recommend driving this at night. There was a dog in the middle of the road around one blind turn, and a random man walking down the road around another. Locals speed down the road in giant trucks with no mercy. As such, if you ever do find yourself in such a situation, you better be wide awake and however much caution you think you’re using, use more. 

We made it back safe and sound to our cabin in Waiʻānapanapa and passed out. I had hiked in a number of different mountain ranges in countries like Switzerland, South Korea, and of course, amongst the mighty peaks of the Cascades in Washington, but I really had never seen anything quite like Haleakalā before. Highly recommended to visit this extinct volcano and see that it is as still as alive and powerful as the days when it was spewing ash.

Upcoming Day 7: Northern Maui: Hana and the Red Sand Beach

Read more in the Hawaiian Travel Series:
(0) Intro: Welcome to Maui
(1) Day 1: Northwest Maui: Lahaina

(2) Day 2: Kihei and Makena

(3)Day 3: Central Maui: Paia and Makawao

(4) Day 4: The Hana Highway 
(5) Day 5: Wai'anapanapa State Park

Disclaimer: the above is presented as fiction, not fact. *Names have been changed for the sake of privacy.